Network bandwidth associated with streaming media content can be limited and costly. Moreover, streaming media content within a home or other network with limited bandwidth may tax the performance of the network, especially if the media content is high definition video or ultra-high definition video. Limited bandwidth may lead to poor quality playback of the media content due to insufficient total available network bandwidth. Limited bandwidth may instead lead to acceptable quality media playback, but at the cost of reduced availability of the network for other purposes, such as additional media streaming.
In the case of video streaming, recent consumer demand for ever-higher resolution (e.g., “4k” or “2160p”), and consumer preference for non-interlaced rendering (e.g., 1080p is generally preferred over 1080i) may increase strain on communication networks having limited bandwidth. This problem can become more severe as technology advances, and consumers demand higher resolutions for video content.